OcNOS also drastically reduces operational costs as it can be used to address multiple solutions such as Data Center, Optical Transport, Cell Site Router, Provider Aggregation, and Passive Optical Networks.

Open Compute Network Operating System (OcNOS) is a network operating system designed to run on white-box network hardware, following the principles of disaggregated networking. OcNOS provides a software-based solution for network switches and routers, offering a flexible and open approach to networking.

Key Features of OcNOS:

OcNOS works with applications in diverse network environments, including data centers, service provider networks, enterprise networks, and cloud deployments. It provides an open, flexible environment and extensive protocol support for software-defined networking (SDN) and disaggregated networks.

Release 6.5.2 offers new software enhancement features.

IP Infusion moved to a three-digit release version number from a two-digit release version number. An integer indicates major, Minor, and Maintenance release versions. Build numbers are for internal tracking and verification of the software build process and are visible to customers as part of the software version number.

Product Name: IP Infusion Product Family

Major Version: New customer-facing functionality that represents a significant change to the code base; in other words, a significant marketing change or direction in the product.

Minor Version: Enhancements/extensions to existing features, external needs, or internal requirements might be motivated by improvements to satisfy new sales regions or marketing initiatives.

Maintenance Version: It is a collection of product bugs/hotfixes and is usually scheduled every 30 or 60 days, based on the number of hotfixes.

OcNOS DC Release 6.5.2 introduces several software features, and product enhancements along with support for a few new hardware devices.

The sFlow monitoring system is enhanced to add more collectors to receive sample data for analysis. For more information, refer to Configure sFlow for Multiple Collectors in the OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

The following is not supported in ZTP:

For more information on ZTP, refer to the Automatic Install using Zero Touch Provisioning section in the OcNOS Installation Guide, Release 6.5.2.

The no ip unreachable feature is used to prevent the device from sending Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) unreachable messages. These messages are typically generated when a router cannot forward a packet because the destination is unreachable.

For more information, refer to No IP Unreachable section in the System Management guide.

The TR3 boards offer a range of IPv6 multicast features that enhance network efficiency, scalability, and control:

PIM - Sparse Mode (PIM-SM)-IPv6: Routes multicast packets efficiently across large networks using a central Rendezvous Point (RP) to manage data distribution, ensuring delivery only to requested areas.

Bootstrap Router (BSR) Mechanism for PIMv6: Automates RP information distribution, reducing manual configuration and enhancing scalability.

Static Rendezvous Point Configuration-IPv6: Allows manual configuration of RPs for greater control and predictability in multicast routing, supporting redundancy with multiple RPs.

PIM - Source Specific Multicast-IPv6 (SSM): Optimizes multicast routing for specific source-receiver pairs, eliminating the need for an RP and reducing resource overhead.

PIM MIB for IPv6: Provides tools for monitoring and managing multicast operations, offering insights into routing tables and performance metrics.

MLD: Multicast Listener Discovery manages group memberships and controls traffic flow on IPv6 links, directing multicast traffic only to interested receivers.

Considerations for MLD Snooping Switches: MLD snooping optimizes multicast traffic by ensuring only interested hosts receive packets, requiring adequate resources for processing and maintaining network scalability.

For more information, refer to the OcNOS Multicast Configuration Guide, Release 6.5.2.

Starting with the OcNOS DC Release 6.5.2x release, MPLS support has been discontinued. Customers are encouraged to review all impacted network configurations and accommodate this change.

The Layer 2 switch treats the received multicast packet as unknown when there is no explicit group join request from any of the hosts for the destination group. The unknown multicast traffic is either forwarded to all ports (except the ingress port) within the VLAN or discarded.

A new command l2 unknown mcast (flood|discard) is introduced to implement this capability.

This feature enables the option to drop the unknown multicast traffic in any snooping configurations. For example, execute the commands discussed in the IGMP Snooping Configuration section.

This feature is supported on Qumran platforms. It reduces the traffic at the egress node and efficiently uses the hardware resources.

For more information, refer to l2 unknown mcast CLI command reference section in OcNOS Multicast Configuration Guide, Release 6.5.2.

The Remote Authentication server behavior is enhanced to support auto enabled privilege level mode based on the user role specified in the authentication server. A new CLI disable default auto-enable is introduced to implement it. Executing this CLI removes the default access to the privilege execute mode to any user.

For more information, refer to Restricted Access to Privilege Mode based on User Role CLI command reference in OcNOS System Management Configuration Guide Release 6.5.2.

The remote authentication servers RADIUS or TACACS are enhanced to support the full-fledged AAA solution for serial console connection using the default and management VRF. For more information, refer to AAA Configuration for Console Connection in OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

The BGP dynamic remote neighbor peer authentication mechanism has been enhanced to accept requests tagged with MD5 signatures.

Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) Aggregator Force-Up, an extension to LACP, allows a link to be forced into an active state without successful LACP negotiation. It ensures continuous operation even when connected devices, such as servers during boot stages, might not support LACP or face temporary configuration limitations. Aggregator Force-Up enhances network reliability and flexibility by maintaining active links under various conditions.

For more information, refer to LACP Aggregator Force-up section in the Layer2 Guide, Release 6.5.2.

The existing ping CLI is enhanced with the following additional capabilities:

For more information, refer to ping CLI section in the OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

OcNOS enhances Ethernet VPN Ethernet-Tree (EVPN E-Tree) to manage communication within broadcast domains, incorporating redundancy through multi-homing. It optimizes traffic routing and control by categorizing network nodes based on predefined definitions of EVPN instances as Leaf or Root nodes. OcNOS VXLAN EVPN E-Tree supports efficient traffic control, enhances security by isolating Leaf hosts, provides scalability across network sizes, and improves network performance.

For more information, refer to EVPN VXLAN E-Tree in the OcNOS Key Feature document, Release 6.5.2.

Setting up strong passwords safeguards sensitive data associated with user accounts, including those of employees and customers, against unauthorized access. Once a strong password is set, a five-step process is used to authenticate the user's access.

OcNOS manages the user account and password in its OcNOS configuration. The password is reflected in the Linux standard user management database under /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow.

For more information, refer to the Configurable Password Policy section in OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

This feature adds storm control as a possible cause to the interface errdisable. If the BUM traffic hits the storm control’s bandwidth thresholds, the interface is moved into error disable state. For more information, refer to ErrDisable for Storm-Control Configuration, Fundamental Layer 2 Commands section in the OcNOS DC Layer 2 Configuration Guide, Release 6.5.2.

OcNOS supports the multiple prefix delegation to a single client. The maximum configurable number of prefixes is between 1 and 64, and the default number is 8.

For more information, refer to DHCPv6 Prefix Delegation Configuration in the OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

The event manager feature facilitates the automatic execution of an action based on the event (operator log messages) that occurred in a device. When an event has occurred, and if it matches with one of the configured events in the database, then the corresponding action is executed automatically.

For more information, refer to Event Manager in the OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

OcNOS enhances streaming telemetry capabilities, including dial-out subscription method, poll mode subscriptions, once mode subscriptions, support for the OpenConfig data model, PROTO/JSON encodings, and in-band telemetry in the global and user-defined VRFs. These enhancements benefit network operators by enabling continuous data streaming, on-demand data retrieval, and the availability of additional data models for streaming telemetry.

Dial-out telemetry or persistent subscriptions ensure continuous data streaming even if the gRPC session terminates unexpectedly. This mode simplifies telemetry subscription configuration and management using standard OpenConfig and IPI data models, enhancing network monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities. Additionally, it facilitates reliable communication between the OcNOS device and collector servers, ensuring uninterrupted data flow for improved network visibility and operational efficiency.

For more information, refer to Streaming Telemetry Dial-Out Mode in the OcNOS Streaming Telemetry Guide, Release 6.5.2.

Poll mode subscriptions allow for on-demand data retrieval through a long-lived RPC. Subscribers initiate this mode by sending a Subscribe request message, followed by sending an empty Poll message to receive the desired data.

In Once mode subscription, the OcNOS device responds to a subscribe request with a one-time data retrieval, similar to a get request. Upon receiving the “Once mode” subscribe request, the device sends back the subscribe response for all subscriptions in the list and terminates the RPC.

OcNOS supports the OpenConfig data model for both Dial-In and Dial-Out operations. Users can specify the type of XPath (openconfig or ipi) in the origin field of the provided path, allowing for efficient and flexible telemetry configurations. Also, introduces new states that provide insights into the operational status and attributes of various components,

For more information, refer to Streaming Telemetry Data Models in the OcNOS Streaming Telemetry Guide, Release 6.5.2.

Enhances streaming encoding support by adding PROTO and JSON formats for Dial-in and Dial-out subscriptions. PROTO encoding enables efficient data serialization between clients and the OcNOS device using protobuf messages. This enhancement streamlines data transmission, allowing for fast communication.

JSON encoding extends encoding support to include quoted string values and unquoted number values. JSON encoding is the default setting when the encoding type is unspecified, improving interoperability and simplifying configuration for network operators.

OcNOS enhances gNMI In-Band support to enable streaming telemetry data transmission across any one of the default, management, or user-defined VRFs using the new VRF parameter feature streaming-telemetry (vrf (NAME|management)|). If no specific VRF is configured, streaming telemetry is automatically enabled within the default VRF. This facility increases flexibility in network management by allowing telemetry data transmission across different VRFs.

The gNMI server now listens for incoming gRPC connections on the IANA-defined standard gNMI port number 9339, replacing the previous non-standard port 11162.

The source field in the dial-out gNMI response now uses the MAC address associated with the management port of the host machine or target (e.g., e8:c5:7a:fe:fd:32) instead of the constant string gnmi_target. This change ensures that each gNMI device has a unique target ID, allowing the collector to distinguish responses between different targets.

For more information, refer to the OcNOS Streaming Telemetry Guide, Release 6.5.2.

OcNOS extends support for OpenConfig Translation for ISIS, BGP, VLAN, LACP, LLDP, OSPFv2, QoS, and Tunnel Interface to name a few. This enables network administrators to manage the additional components using standardized YANG models and promotes consistency and simplifies network management. This extension also offers network operators flexibility and comprehensive error reporting through OpenConfig paths, which can be valuable for troubleshooting and diagnostics.

The OpenConfig Translation feature provides the ability to manage multi-vendor networks through a unified interface, reducing operational costs and complexity for network operators.

For more information, refer to the ISIS OpenConfig Translation, BGP OpenConfig Translation, OSPFv2 Openconfig Translation, LACP OpenConfig Translation, Tunnel Interfaces OpenConfig Translation, VLAN OpenConfig Translation LLDP OpenConfig Translation, QoS OpenConfig Translation sections in the OcNOS OpenConfig Command Reference document, Release 6.5.2.

To interop with older routers, where micro-bfd support is not available, a new CLI, “bfd session” command, is introduced and operated by a control plane. The BFD packet TX/RX and state machine runs in the control plane.

For more information, refer to BFD Support on LAG Interface section in the OcNOS Layer 3 Guide, Release 6.5.2.

The port breakout functionality supports the division of 100GbE ports into distinct configurations, such as 4x10GbE, 4x25GbE, and 2x50GbE, using a secure and highly reliable breakout cabling solution. Networks today demand a combination of interface speeds, including 10Gb, 25Gb, 40Gb, and 100Gb Ethernet, to accommodate a diverse range of flexible connectivity options. Additionally, cost-effective cabling solutions are crucial to address connectivity needs and facilitate smooth migrations as network speeds and density requirements evolve.

The port breakout feature offers the flexibility to split a 100G port into 4X10G, or 4X25G, 2X50G. When performing a port breakout on the 100G port (ce1), the original port (ce1) is replaced by four 10G ports, namely ce1/1, ce1/2, ce1/3, and ce1/4. All Layer 2 (L2) and Layer 3 (L3) features applicable to normal ports can be executed on these breakout ports.

For more information, refer to Dynamic Port Breakout (100G) on Qumran AX and MX in the OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

Signal Integrity in the context of Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable Double Density (QSFP-DD) refers to the maintenance of the quality of electrical signals transmitted and received by the QSFP-DD module. QSFP-DD is a high-speed, high-density interface used primarily in data center applications to interconnect switches, servers, and other networking equipment.

Maintaining signal integrity is crucial in high-speed data transmission because any degradation or distortion of the signals can lead to errors, reduced performance, or even complete failure of communication between devices. In the case of QSFP-DD, which supports data rates of up to 400 Gbps per port, ensuring signal integrity is particularly challenging due to the high data rates and the compact form factor of the module.

This feature provides a way to override the default transceiver signal integrity settings in case they are not enough to achieve a stable electrical connection with the host side peer.

For more information, refer to Signal Integrity in QSFP-DD in the OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

OcNOS introduces a new method of Virtual Extensible Local Area Network (VXLAN) configuration by mapping a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) to a VXLAN network Identifier (VNID). This method allows the configuration of more access ports. Release 6.5.2 introduces the following CLIs to configure and validate the VLAN to VNID mapping:

For more information, refer to VLAN to VNID Mapping in OcNOS Virtual Extensible Local Area Network Guide, Release 6.5.2.

Multi Topology (MT) in ISIS allows separate IPv4 and IPv6 address family topologies to be used for routing and to coexist without interference. It enables computation of separate Shortest Path First (SPF) tree, per level and per address family within a single domain.

This release supports MT in address families IPv4 (Topology 0) and IPv6 (Topology 1).

For more information on ISIS Multi Topology, refer to the following RFC: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5120.

For configuration information, refer to ISIS Multi Topology in the OcNOS Layer3 Guide, Release 6.5.2.

OSPFv2 Multi-Area Adjacency allows configuration of one or more interfaces of the ‘Backbone Area’ (aka 'Area 0') for the same 'Regular Area'.

For more information on ISIS Multi Topology, refer to the following RFC: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5120

For configuration information, refer to Multi-Area Redundant Adjacency Configuration in OcNOS Layer 3 Configuration Guide, Release 6.5.2.

To display the running configuration in JSON or XML format and to view configuration differences between commits respectively, two new CLI commands, 'show json/xml commit config', 'show json/xml commit diff”, and “save cml commit-history WORD” have been added.

For more information, refer to show json/xml commit config WORD, show json/xml commit diff WORD WORD, and save cml commit-history WORD commands in the OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

OcNOS provides support for displaying multi-line banner messages, enabling users to configure banner messages spanning multiple lines.

For more information, refer to Multi-Line Banner Support in the OcNOS System Management Guide, Release 6.5.2.

few new hardware devices.

This section provides the new hardware details introduced in the OcNOS 6.5.2 release.

OcNOS supports the versatile AS4625-54T1G switch for 1G/Full advertise in Auto-Negotiation with the RJ-45 copper ports. It is ideal as a management switch in data center networking, enterprise access networking, and campus access networking.

This hardware is equipped with:

It includes 54 total ports as follows:

For more information, refer to AS4625-54T Port Mapping chapter in the OcNOS EdgeCore Installation Guide, Release 6.5.2.

OcNOS provides support for the UfiSpace S91101-32X, a white box data center switch with open network capabilities. This device enables load balancing and provides congestion management.

This hardware is equipped with

The front panel image below provides a view of all the ports on the device.

For more information, refer to S9110-32X Port Mapping chapter in the OcNOS UfiSpace Installation Guide, Release 6.5.2.

IP Infusion maintains an online technical support site that provides a variety of technical support programs for licensed OcNOS customers at https://www.ipinfusion.com/support/.

IP Infusion's maintenance customers and partners can access the support website. The site allows customers and partners to open technical support calls, update open calls with new information, and review the status of open or closed calls. The password-protected site includes technical documentation, Release Notes, and descriptions of service offerings.

For core commands and configuration procedures, visit: https://www.ipinfusion.com/documentation/ocnos-product-documentation/data-centers/release-6-5/.

For training videos, visit: https://www.ipinfusion.com/ocnos-zero-to-hero-training-videos/.

For a list of supported platforms and SKUs of OcNOS features, refer to the feature matrix https://www.ipinfusion.com/documentation/ocnos-feature-matrix/.

Contact the IP Infusion sales representative for more information about the OcNOS Service Providers solution.